FOXBORO — Lost in Randy Moss’ memorable postgame question-and-answer session with the media on Sunday was the news that the Patriots’ wide receiver spent his offseason focused on one guy: Darrelle Revis.

Moss acknowledged that Revis, who cleaned his clock in the first meeting between the two teams last season — the New England receiver had a season-low 24 receiving yards in the 16-9 loss — got in his head. As a result, the Jets’ cornerback was the guy Moss was thinking about when he spent the offseason working out with Tim Martin in South Florida. (Check out some of the distinctly old-school workout video here.)

“[Revis] did do some good things last year to be the shutdown corner that he is,” said Moss, who was only marginally better — five catches, 34 yards and a touchdown — in the rematch later in the 2009 season. “And I’m not scared to say this — I prided my offseason on Revis. Like I said, I take pride in what I do, but what he did last year was something that even opened my eyes up as a wide receiver; that there’s a cornerback out here that I really have to be on my A game.

“So I prided my offseason on staying off of Revis Island.”

The impending battle between Moss (who came into camp in tremendous shape) and Revis (who engaged in one of the most celebrated holdouts in recently NFL history before agreeing to a deal) is just one of the subplots heading into this week’s Patriots-Jets game. Whether it’s Moss against Revis, Bill Parcells against Bob Kraft or Bill Belichick against Eric Mangini, the two teams have always made for great theatre. And after a preseason of bluster from Rex Ryan and the Jets, this year should be no different.

But while the Jets have had their mugs all over television thanks to “Hard Knocks” and a collection of pundits who have already tabbed them as a Super Bowl favorite thanks to some impressive offseason acquisitions, the Patriots have been quietly waiting and watching.

“I want to see if they can, [with] all the talk, if they can back it up,” Patriots quarterback Tom Brady told WEEI Monday morning. “Maybe they can and maybe they can’t.”

“That’s one thing I’ve learned pretty quick since I’ve been here, is that the Jets are definitely hated by a lot of the fans, and I’m getting more and more involved in that rivalry,” said running back Fred Taylor, who’s in his second season with the Patriots. “For me, it’s going to be a competitive atmosphere in a new stadium down there. It’s really going to be one that you get up for. That’s the reason we love to play this game.”

The Patriots are coming off an impressive season-opening 38-24 win over the Bengals, a victory that came on the heels of a week full of distractions. In addition to the usual hype surrounding an NFL regular-season opener, there was a car crash for Brady near his Back Bay home and a mammoth new contract for the quarterback.

No sooner had that been put in the rear-view mirror, however, when, without provocation, Moss took to a podium after Sunday’s win and talked about his own contract situation. In what started as a monologue and ended up running roughly 15 minutes (his most expansive Q&A he has done since he arrived in New England in April 2007), he said he didn’t feel wanted in New England, and though he wants to sign with the Patriots again, he will treat it like a business decision.

In the Patriots locker room on Monday, Moss’ teammates, including two veterans who are also in the final year of their contracts, defended the wide receiver.

“Contracts are part of the game,” said running back Sammy Morris. “I haven’t heard what he said yet. I’m not really dying to go figure it out either. It’s part of the game. We’ve got a pretty veteran team and we understand that’s part of it.”

“I think each guy’s different,” said offensive lineman Matt Light. “Some guys, one thing’s important to them. For others, it’s completely different. For me, I’m pretty happy. I’ve got no complaints.”

“I feel the same way as I have felt about Randy for the last three years,” Belichick said. “He’s a good football player. I’m glad he’s on our team. I think he adds a lot to our football team. He’s got good energy. Everybody likes him. He’s fun to have on the team and he’s a good player.”

Taylor believes this is a team that is prepared to handle any distraction that is thrown its way.

“I think with this group of guys, this team has a lot of leaders, a lot of veteran guys who have been around,” said Taylor. “So I think they know how to kind of put some stuff aside and do our job and do what we have to do. I don’t worry about that here with this team.”

Meanwhile, the Patriots will be getting the Jets — who suffered a 10-9 loss to the Ravens on “Monday Night Football” last night — on a short week. While that might be a factor against another team, Belichick said Monday that when it comes to a familiar opponent like the Jets, it wouldn’t make much of a difference when it comes to preparation.

“I think both teams know each other pretty well,” Belichick said, noting the similarities to last year when the Patriots opened on “MNF” in Week 1 against the Bills before going to the Meadowlands for a Week 2 game with the Jets.

“If you’re going to play somebody on a short week, I think it’s easier to play somebody you’re pretty familiar with — you know the personnel, you know most of the schemes. They’ll have some wrinkles, no doubt about that, along with a couple of new guys we haven’t faced before that weren’t with the Jets and vice-versa. There’s a lot of carryover from last time we faced them.”